Cocktails: A Gin Bramble & A Mississippi Mule

We Remember the Dead!

In New Orleans, we love to celebrate our Dead!  We have gigantic Mausoleums, Memorial Masses, and even Jazz Funeral Parades that march down the streets with large brass bands remembering our Dead!  Why?  Not to wallow in their death but to celebrate in their life.

So thus we were inspired by LSU's race to the BCS championship & their unfortunate demise!  However, in honor of their Purple & Gold colors, we searched for a proper cocktail cocktail that would remind us their great season and exciting run to the top!

In that search, we came accross another great legend called THE FIX.  The Fix Cocktail, as it was listed in Jerry Thomas' bartenders guide (1862),  was a wonderful blend of  Raspberry Syrup, Powdered Sugar, Gin, and the Juice of  several Gold Lemons.  Now this Gin Fix is regarded as being dead, however it would seem that it in fact lives on, as the Bramble & the Mississippi Mule.  

Now if you search for either of these drinks, we came accross an adaptation of the Bramble at Bar Tonique under their Sours menu & have had one at Bar Uncommon made by Mr. Chris McMillan.  However, we have been making the recipe that was created by Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in Soho, London, in the mid-80s and find that this recipe is an easy and great one to introduce people who claim they "Hate Gin" because the flavors of the berry Liquer will mellow out any gin prejudices!

So to honor our Boys in Purple & Gold and the great 2011 season they had, we remember you with these 2 tasty cocktails that have a Purple color with a Gold base:

The Gin Bramble

•  1.5 oz of Dry Gin
• .75 oz of Lime or Lemon Juice
• .5 oz of Simple Syrup
• .75 oz Creme' de Mure (Blackberry Liqueur)***
• 3 blackberries

Mix Gin, Lime or Lemon Juice (we prefer Lime), and Simple Syrup in a shaker filled with ice for about 15 seconds.  Strain Mix into a Rocks glass filled with Crushed Ice**.  Drizzle Creme' De Mure on top and Garnish with Blackberries!

**Note: The reason we use Crushed Ice is that the berry-flavoured liqueur should cascade down through the crushed ice, as it is served. When done right it is very pleasing, visually.

 the Mississipi Mule

  ~ 2 oz of Dry Gin

  ~ 0.5 oz of Lemon Juice

  ~ 0.5 oz of Creme de Cassis (black currant Liqueur)***

  ~ Lemon Peel or 3 Raspberries

Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with Lemon peel or 3 Raspberries!

***NOTE: Most Recipes out there say that if you cant find your Berry Liqueur you can substitue it with Chambord if you cant find your Liqueur.  Chambord is a Raspberry Brandy Based Liqueur with honey.  SOO you can definately replace any of the above if you so feel lazy, however, we have had no problem finding Creme de Cassis or Creme de Mure.  In New Orleans, you can find almost anything at Dorignacs in their immense yet beautiful wine & liqueur section!!

So we hope you enjoy these two recipes.  We Salute you LSU Tiger Season of 2011 for a great run!!

Did you like our cocktail suggestions or did you make any of these? Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment below.

  

Sauce Spotlight: Appleton Estate

Well Modern Drunkards, it's time for the Saturday Sauce Spotlight and today we are going to discuss a main ingredient found in Hot Buttered Rum. During the Christmas Season, you will find Hot Buttered Rum in many craft bars and restaurants like Bar Tonique, the Library Lounge, The Marginy Brasserie, & even the City Park Christmas Cafe during Celebration in the Oaks.

This warm winter cocktail recommends a dark Jamaican Rum to add a dark and slightly spicy flavor to warm the cockles of your heart & belly. Recently, we watched Chris McMillian's Youtube video from the Library Lounge where he teaches us how to make a delicious hot buttered rum and he recommends using Appleton Estates Rum.

Now with the Hot Buttered Rum, any of the Appleton Estates Rums will do, however, we prefer Appleton Estate VX Rum. The Appleton Estate VX Rum offers a spiciness up front while not being harsh. This rum is 80-proof and is made from sugar cane grown in Jamaica and is fermented with natural yeast found in Appleton sugar cane. It is a dark amber rum made with a blend of several other rums. The reason we find it a good match for Hot Buttered Rum is that it is herbal with notes of sweet butter.

You can usually find it priced from a minimum of $18.00 - $22.00 at Martin Wine Cellar, Elio's Wine Warehouse, Dorignac's, or your local grocery.

Try it out in a Hot Buttered Rum or another type of cocktail and tell us what you thing. Don't like it or prefer another type of rum for your Hot Buttered Rum? Let us know.

Thirsty Thursday: The NEGRONI

Well it's Thirsty Thursday Folks and Time for us to share with you the Drink of the Week. This week we are shining the Spotlight on the Negroni.

We chose the Negroni after reading In the Dec '09/Jan '10 Issue of Men's Journal on the last Page titled "Survival Skills", that Anthony Bourdain's favorite Drink is a NEGRONI. Bourdain says that the Negroni is his favorite drink that was taught to him by Mario Batali and that this simultaneously ruined and improved his life!!

The base alchohols of the Negroni are Gin and Campari. It's widely considered an aperitif, a pre-dinner cocktail intended to stimulate the appetite although it can be enjoyed at any time. The most common legend is that it was invented in Florence, Italy when Count Cammillo Negroni in the 1920's ordered an Americano Cocktail and asked the bartender to add Gin.

New Orleans Modern Drunkards, Steve, Ryan, and Eric, tested this cocktail at the Bridge Lounge in Uptown and at Bar Tonique in the Outskirts of the French Quarter. At the Bridge Lounge, Styles crafted this Drink using Beefeater Gin and it was a bit light but nice. At Bar Tonique, Christine crafted her Negroni's with Plymouth Gin which added a more fragrant flavor and she also openes the orange twist by burning it which helps add a light fruity finish. Overall, I, Eric, liked it cause it was a light cocktail.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 1/2 oz Campari
1 1/2 oz gin
orange slice or twist for garnish

Preparation: Pour the ingredients into an old-fashioned glass with ice cubes. Stir well & Garnish with the orange slice

Try it out and let us know what you think!!

Where're We Wednesday? 12/16/09

Well it's Wednesday and it's time to find us while we are out partaking of tasty libations. Today, I, Eric, will be going out around 9pm to enjoy a couple of Negroni's. So for the 1st two people that can find me, I will buy you each a Negroni or a gin drink of comparable price.
So Where are We going to be on this Wednesday December 16th?
Well here are your 5 clues:
1) The bar is accross the street from a park named after a famous Jazz Trumpeter.
2) This Bar used to be where King Bolden used to hold court before hurricane Katrina
3) Rebecca Cotton Reviewed this Excellent Bar on September 10, 2008 for Nola.com
4) In the name of the Bar it has the french word for "Tonic"
5) If you figure out the street, the Street Number in Roman Numerals is DCCCXX

When You get there, you will have to answer this question?
~In the Dec '09/Jan '10 Issue of Men's Journal on the last Page titled
"Survival Skills", who's favorite Drink is a NEGRONI?

Answer: Anthony Bourdain! Bourdain says that the Negroni is his favorite drink that was taught to him by Mario Batali and that this simultaneously ruined and improved his life!!